Advanced Environmental Law in Theory and Application

This course complements the general survey course in environmental law. The primary contrast between the two courses lies in their relative breadth and depth of coverage. The survey course can perhaps be best described as a series of broad, shallow dives into the substance of federal environmental law. This class, Advanced Environmental Law-In Theory and Application, includes a series, far fewer in number, of much narrower and deeper dives into some of the same material, but also different material, potentially including natural resources law. The basic objective of this advanced course is to teach students how to navigate and think about an exceedingly complex regime of statutes, regulations, informal agency practices, in the context of addressing a concrete environmental problem. By examining in detail environmental law in application, the theoretical underpinnings and the challenges of environmental lawmaking are well highlighted. There are no formal prerequisites for the class, although the environmental law survey course is a recommended course to have taken beforehand.